Oracle + Open Source » openinsights

iHeavy Insights 67 – Golden Rule In Business

Sean Hull — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:00:13 +0000

If you’ve ever worked with someone who is more on the abrasive side, you probably know how unpleasant it can make business. The truth is when it comes to the people you work with everyday, it’s important to be a great person to work with. This doesn’t mean not speaking your mind, but it means doing so in a way that doesn’t step on toes. A pleasure doing business with you – carries more weight than we might often think.

Newsletter 67 – Golden Rule In Business

iHeavy Insights 66 – Needs & Wants

Sean Hull — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:00:24 +0000

Customers and consultants often have wildly different views of a business solution. Consultants may see the devil in the details, how all the gears line up, and what each piece does. The customer very clearly sees their business needs. The trick is for the consultant to be able to translate needs to wants, and articulate that solution in a way that expresses the value to the business. All that, and without getting tripped up on complex jargon, and too much technical detail.

iHeavy Insights 66 – Needs and Wants

Open Insights 64 – What You Value

Sean Hull — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:16:10 +0000

Our 64th newsletter issue is just out. In it we discuss different perspectives, and how they shape what we value as important. Understanding how each person, each client, each party at the table sees things, and values things differently is the first step in being able to deliver and speak directly to their needs.

View – newsletter 64 – What You Value

open insights 63 – Slow To Credit

Sean Hull — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:00:37 +0000

Everyone has experienced the phenomenon of dealing with their savings or checking account banks. When they deposit a check, the bank is quick to credit, while when they write a check, they are slow to debit. This is a phenomenon of accounting, ie take in money as quickly as possible, but dole it out as slowly as possible. At root it is at the heart of cash flow. In this month’s newsletter we discuss some of the challenges inherent in business as belts are tightened and budgets constrict.

Newsletter Issue 63 – Slow To Credit

Open Insights 62 – Context

Sean Hull — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:00:13 +0000

In our last newsletter of the decade we discuss the importance of context. Whether it is in user interface design such as priorities in the iphone and feature development, or the numbering of apartments in a new building complex, the perspective or context within which designers, architects and engineers see things, is often quite different from the day-t0-day experiences of so-called end-users. Stepping into their shoes, and being able to see things from their perspective, ie your customers perspective, is an ever present challenge in business.

Newsletter Issue 62 – Context

Open Insights 61 – Medicine of Austerity

Sean Hull — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:49 +0000

In our latest newsletter we discuss what economists are dubbing the “medicine of austerity” aka paying the piper or tightening your belt. And we think that this medicine will surely include open source technologies.

Open Insights 61 – Medicine of Austerity

Open Insights 60 – Principal Agent

Sean Hull — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:00:06 +0000

Issue 60 marks our newsletter’s five year anniversary. How time flies!

This month we talk about the very prescient topic of the principal agent problem. If you’ve ever been to the mechanic and wondered about what problem your car really has, and whether the mechanic might be inflating the story to his own advantage, then this issue is for you.

Issue 60 – Principal Agent Problem

Open Insights 59 – Invisibility of Skills

Sean Hull — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:43 +0000

Our newsletter this month hits upon the topic of skills. How often are skills not obvious upon first observation of someone? We illustrate this point first by looking at some martial arts classes and then some resumes!

Issue 59 – Invisibility of Skills

Open Insights 58 – Ownership

Sean Hull — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:00:39 +0000

In our latest newsletter we take a trip to the Brooklyn Flea, and talk with the purveyors not of homemade beer, but homemade beer making equipment. We share some insights at how enthusiasts, technology geeks, open source aficionados and passionate detail oriented folks in many niches share a common trait in common. That of ownership. Owning the details, the skills, and mastery over a topic or area. The proverbial “subject matter expert”.

Open Insights Newsletter Issue 58 – Ownership

Open Insights 57 – Logic Alone?

Sean Hull — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:00:13 +0000

In this month’s issue we discuss assessing people, and how we determine qualification. In particular we look at skills and compare the to immeasurables like drive, loyalty, and fortitude as factors which are often more difficult to measure, but perhaps more crucial to success.

Open Insights 57 – Logic Alone?

Open Insights 56 – Cui Bono – To Whose Benefit?

Sean Hull — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:44:18 +0000

Issue 56 – Cui Bono – To Whose Benefit?

Open Insights 55 – Preserving Optionality

Sean Hull — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:43:18 +0000

Issue 55 – Preserving Optionality

Issue 54 – Path Dependency Avoidance

Sean Hull — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:00:32 +0000

Path Dependence is a technical term which basically means the further along a given path you go, the more pressure there is to “stay the course”. In this months open insights issue, we discuss this phenomenon in consulting, and suggest some ways to help eliminate or reduce that dependence and make you more nimble and flexible in tight budgets, and trying economic times.Open Insights 54 – Avoiding Path Dependence

Open Insights 53 – Focus on Results

Sean Hull — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:19:48 +0000

Our latest issue of Open Insights #53 for March 2009, we discuss the idea “focus on results on process”. From buying technology hardware, to buying licenses, hiring consultants, to upgrading enterprise software, this simple maxim can provide some new insights into our decision making processes, and hopefully save us time and money in the process.Open Insights 53 – Focus on Results

Open Insights 51 – Stretch Your Database Dollar

Sean Hull — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:00:14 +0000

Over the holidays I had the chance to catch up on some podcasts I hadn’t listened to. In particular Financial Times has an excellent weekly one called “Digital Business”. In the last one for 2008, Peter Whitehead interviews a few people to get their forcasts for 2009.

Of particular interest to our readers was his mention that Open Source will continue to grow in importance, as budgets get squeezed. Limited budgets mean looking at every dollar, so this month’s Open Insights issue 51, we talk about stretching your database dollar, and where and when open source database technologies may be right for you.